Richard Rockefeller, Ruby Dee, Bob Welch: Obituaries This Week

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Bob Welch in action against the New York Yankees, in Los Angeles, October 1978. Photographer: James Drake/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

June 14 (Bloomberg) -- This week’s notable deaths included
a son of David Rockefeller Sr., the world’s oldest billionaire;
a black American actress whose work on stage and off involved
fighting racial discrimination; and a Cy Young Award-winning
Major League Baseball pitcher. Below are summaries of these and
other obituaries from the past week.

Richard Rockefeller, 65, was the son of philanthropist David
Rockefeller, a former chief executive officer of New York-based
Chase Manhattan Bank and grandson of Standard Oil co-founder
John D. Rockefeller. Richard Rockefeller was a physician in
Portland, Maine, and past chairman of the U.S. advisory board of
Doctors Without Borders. Died June 13, one day after visiting
his father to celebrate the patriarch’s 99th birthday, when the
single-engine plane he was piloting crashed after takeoff from
the Westchester County, New York, airport.

Ruby Dee, 91, was an Academy Award-nominated actress and civil
rights activist. She and her husband, actor Ossie Davis, were
inducted in 1989 into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Died
June 11 at her home in New Rochelle, New York.

Bob Welch, 57, who received the American League Cy Young Award
in 1990 with the Oakland Athletics, was the last major league
pitcher to win more than 25 games in a season. He also played
for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Died June 9 of a heart attack.

Glenn Britt, 65, the former chairman and CEO of New York-based
Time Warner Cable Inc., oversaw its 2009 spinoff from its parent
company and a fivefold increase in shareholder returns. Just
weeks after his retirement on Dec. 31, the company agreed to be
bought by Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp., the largest U.S.
cable provider, in a deal valued at $45 billion. Died June 11 of
cancer at his home in New York.

Karen DeCrow, 76, led the National Organization for Women from
1974 to 1977. She advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment,
which was passed by Congress in 1972, although not ratified by a
sufficient number of states to become law. Died June 6 of
melanoma at her home in Jamesville, New York.

Benjamin Mophatlane, 41, was the co-founder and CEO of
Johannesburg-based Business Connexion Group Ltd., an information
technology service. Last month, he agreed to sell the company to
Telkom SA SOC Ltd., South Africa’s largest fixed-line phone
company, for $253 million. Died June 11 of cardiac arrest.